New York Times Examines ‘Potential, Potential Peril’ of China’s HIV/AIDS Treatment Plan
The New York Times on Friday examined the "potential and potential peril" of China's plan to distribute antiretroviral drugs to HIV-positive people in the nation. The program is the "first significant effort" by the government to fight the disease, which Chinese health officials now acknowledge could affect 10 million people in the country by 2010, according to the Times. The plan has the potential to make treatment available to some HIV-positive people, which means that they will "finally ge[t] something from the Chinese government besides denial, inaction and intimidation," the Times reports. However, the peril may come if China believes it can fight HIV/AIDS "simply by handing out pills," according to the Times. Some health experts say that China's public health system is inadequately equipped to effectively monitor HIV/AIDS patients who are taking the antiretroviral drugs, and they warn that as a result some patients could develop drug-resistant HIV strains (Yardley, New York Times, 11/21). The complete article is available online.
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